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Topic: small hive beetle larva control (Read 1948 times)

at the recent H.A.S. conference i heard a speaker talking about different experiments he'd performed trying to control small hive beetles. he had tried various things to treat the soil beneath hives to control larva development. he built raised beds & placed the hives over those. he found that the larva would travel over the boards used for raising the beds. he had some limited success with rock salt but that is not an option for me. i have no doubt that the local deer would be digging in the soil to get to the salt & could eventually undermine the blocks holding up my hives.. i've seen places where deer were digging in the soil on spots where salt blocks had been years after the blocks were gone. i've been using diatomaceous earth under the hives & that seems to have helped. i just received an organic garden product catalogue & found myself having a brain fart. has anyone ever tried using benefitial nematodes under hives. there is a variety that feeds on grubs. beetle larva resemble small grubs. it just might help. any opinions?

I put my hives in all day sun with screened bottom boards. I inspect my hives every week and have found about 6 beetles all year.

All day sun means all day. Not just in the sun in the morning or afternoon. It means all day.

A beekeeper from Jacksonville had 2 trailers of bees on my property 4-7 years ago before I got my own bees and he lost many hives from the beetles. The difference was that he put his trailers in the shade all day. I have beetles here, but the all day sun is my solution.

sun, traps/bait, diatomaceous earth, its a combo of everything. The soapy water tub banging frames onto the 1/4 screen is the ticket for infested hives. I put some thick black plastic under hives that gets roasting hot in the sun. if a larvae falls onto that it is toast.

I've been considering the nematodes. Looks promising. First year as a beekeeper, I found the oil tray under 6 mesh screen works. Many adults and larvae at first, then tapers off in numbers. These are the "Green Bee" type of traps.

Nematodes will only ensure that the larvae are taken care of at the base of your hive, after the larvae have done their damage in your hive. Now since SHB are opportunistic and like everything from garden veggies/fruit to your neighbors bee hives, that means that you would have to treat your entire county for you to see any results.

There is no easy answer for these guys other than a strong colony and traps.

i understand that the 1st & best defense is a strong colony. i'm seeing equal results using c.d. cases, beetle jails, & beetle barns for traps.the freeman oil traps in the bottom of the hive kill as many bees as beetles. i have seen beetles killed on the mite inspection board when i coated it with butter flavored cooking spray as well. with the nematodes i'm also looking ro help break the life cycle of the beetle's development. i do not expect this to be a cure-all but if it does work it can only help. every little bit helps.......

The head of the entomology dept of a large university on the left coast has found that SHB love Pine wood. They can burrow into the surface of the wood and lay their eggs if the bees leave them alone long enough. He also found out that they hate latex Paint. If you paint the inside of the boxes with Latex paint the beetles will leave.The mashed up remains of the larva spread around the entrance will keep beetles from entering the hive but must be refreshed fairly often.An opaque translucent cover on a TBH will also keep beetles away.The prof has not published so I can not quote him.RegardsJoe